In the past, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars was only enough for Estelle to buy a bag, a pair of shoes, or a pair of sunglasses. But now, it was a large amount of money for her. And she thought that the money marked a good start for her career.
Hearing Bob and Estelle’s conversation, her colleagues gathered around her and looked at her with admiration.
“Wow, you really nailed it! I heard that Mrs. Green and her daughter offered a high price for the customised jewellery, but they are too fussy. You finish such a big order on your first day here! You’re awesome!”
“You are so talented and should be famous in our industry. But we haven’t heard from you before. It’s so strange.”
Estelle explained, “I quit this industry before and have been a housewife for six years.”
“Oh, my God! You are so gifted, but you stayed at home being a housewife before. I’m wondering how charming your husband is to make you willing to give up your career.”
“I... got divorced.”
“What!?”
Estelle smiled in embarrassment and said, “I got divorced, so I came here to work to earn a living.”
Hearing this, the female colleagues around her immediately looked at her with sympathy.
Someone said, “Oh, God. Marriage ruins a woman’s life. I won’t get married. I will work hard to earn enough money and enjoy my single life.”
Another person echoed, “We women are also valuable. Never be a housewife, everyone.”
At this time, a voice came from behind, “Are you serious? If all the women in the world decide not to get married, few people will buy wedding rings. Then our company will shut down, and we will lose our jobs.”
Hearing this, the others all quieted down and returned to their cubicles.
Estelle turned her head and found that the woman who had just spoken was the woman in the yellow overcoat. The woman seemed to have a high position in the company, and the others were afraid of her.
Estelle stood up, tried to be as gentle as she could, and said, “Hello. I’m sorry that I said something that made you unhappy when commenting on your design this morning. I would like to invite you to dinner to express my apology.”
“No need. Do you think I can’t afford a meal?” The woman in yellow said coldly and glared at her.
Estelle touched her nose awkwardly.
She knew that the designer was offended by her blunt words today. After all, no designer would be happy when his or her professionalism was questioned in public.
Thinking about what she had said in the meeting room, Estelle thought that she was too reckless today. She hadn’t worked for a long time and had forgotten her interpersonal skills in the workplace.
“I’m sorry. I... I didn’t mean any offence. How about I...”
“I’ve told you I don’t need you to do anything to apologise. Why are you so annoying?” The designer in the yellow overcoat interrupted her and said. “Is there anything else you want to say? If not, don’t disturb me. I’m working now.”
“No... nothing. I’m sorry.” Estelle stammered and sat down, feeling remorseful.
At this time, she saw a new message on the office communication system. She clicked it and found that the message was from Tim.
‘A product launch event will be held tomorrow, and we’ll invite some stars to attend it. I’ve sent you the list of stars to come. Please check the attached file. Your task is to choose the most suitable products for every one of them. They’ll wear the jewellery and display them at the event.’
Estelle inhaled deeply, clicked the file, and scrutinised the list.
There were five popular female stars invited. After learning about their information, she devoted herself to working and left all her worries and troubles behind.
After she got off work, Rebecca called her.
“Estelle, I heard that you’ve got the job. Congratulations! I knew you could do it!” Rebecca said happily.
Estelle couldn’t help smiling and said, “Thank you, Rebecca.”
“Don’t mention it. You promised me that if you got the job, you would invite me to dinner. Do you still remember that?”
“Sure,” Estelle said and looked at the time; “How about we have dinner together tonight? I’m off duty now. You may choose whichever restaurant you like. I got a large amount of commission today. You can eat anything you want. Tell me the address of the restaurant later, and I’ll take a cab there.”
“Yeah!” Rebecca was overjoyed. “I’ll select a restaurant first!”
“Okay.”
Finally, Rebecca chose a seafood restaurant.
When Estelle came to the restaurant, the memory of the past flooded back.
****
“Eating here seems to be very expensive. It charges about two thousand dollars for each person.”
“Don’t worry. I have enough money. Let’s go inside.”
“Wow, the fish here are so beautiful! It’s my first time to come to such an interesting restaurant. Will we have dinner in a transparent tunnel? It’s so fantastic. I must hold my wedding here in the future!”
“Okay. Your wedding can be held wherever you want. But the groom must be me.”
“It depends. The groom is not necessarily you. Maybe I’ll fall in love with someone more handsome and better than you.”
“Perish the thought. You can’t find a second man who treats you better than I do in the world.”
****
“Excuse me? Miss?” The waiter’s voice wrenched Estelle’s mind back to the present.
Then she saw that the waiter was waiting for her to order the dishes.
Rebecca asked, “Estelle, what’s wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?”
“No. I suddenly thought of my work all of a sudden just now, so I was distracted,” Estelle quickly lied.
“You, workaholic woman. Relax, Estelle. You’ve got off work. By the way, although Tim is sharp-tongued, he’s a good man. As long as you work hard and are capable enough, getting promoted and a higher salary is not a problem. He’s a generous boss and treats his subordinates well.”
Estelle chuckled. “I see.”
“Ladies, may I take your order?” the waiter asked at this time.
Estelle asked Rebecca to order, but Rebecca refused and said, “I’ve never been to such a high-end restaurant. Estelle, you order the dishes.”
Estelle nodded and looked at the menu. Then she told the waiter, “We’ll have geoduck sashimi as the main dish. Do you have honey yoghurt?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Then we’ll have two portions of honey yoghurt. As for the soup, we’d like creamed mushroom soup. That’s it,” Estelle said.
“Okay. Would you like some wine?” the waiter asked.
“No, thanks. We don’t drink,” Estelle said with a smile.
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